


Empty Your Heart of Its Mortal Dream

by sleepyowlet



Series: The UnFair Folk [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Angst, F/M, Fae!Hux, M/M, Multi, Siren!Kylo, Slavery mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-19 13:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8210035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepyowlet/pseuds/sleepyowlet
Summary: Truth will out. Rey gets a rough idea of who she’s dealing with - it does not go well.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Babblerama: And here we go again with the fae/siren AU. I have no excuse. Oops? And, uh, angst. Oops.
> 
> Cuthian debugged. Thank you, luv, for being the cavalry.
> 
> As always, if you need me to tag anything, I will.

_ “Our cheeks are pale, our hair is unbound, _

_ Our breasts are heaving our eyes are agleam, _

_ Our arms are waving our lips are apart; _

_ And if any gaze on our rushing band, _

_ We come between him and the deed of his hand, _

_ We come between him and the hope of his heart.” _

_ “The Hosting Of The Sidhe” W.B. Yeats _

 

“Hello, love,” a smooth voice greeted Rey as she entered the cottage, laden with grocery bags. “Here, let me help you with those.”

Hux, of course. The first time he had suddenly appeared in her house it had been a bit of a shock, but she was used to his presence by now.

Rey had been returned to her home and her life after her magical meeting with two magical creatures as if nothing had changed; she still went to work in the cool hours of dawn and came home to her cottage in the bright afternoon sun (if it wasn’t raining). She still met with Finn and Poe for watching films or listening to music.

The only change was that both Hux and Kylo seemed to have become fixtures in her life as well, slipping into odd moments and spaces, fitting in seamlessly. They danced, cautiously, somewhat awkwardly, around whatever it was they were becoming, the three of them.

Handing the bags over to her lover (he was her lover, wasn’t he?) she sighed in relief. Gardening was backbreaking work, and the trip from the plant nursery to her cottage was nothing to be sneezed at, even though she had a bike.

Rey’s mind, still on stowing away all perishable food, ground to a halt as she was drawn in for a long, surprisingly sweet kiss. She couldn’t help but wondering if this was really how he went about things, or if he just put on a mask, made himself palatable for her, mimicking what he thought she desired in a lover. He was too fucking dangerous, insidious, to be this sweet. Something deep inside the animal part of her brain still didn’t entirely trust him.

Rey couldn’t help but think that her two new acquaintances had been too smooth, too practiced at what they had done with her. They had very likely done this before, with other women. Only - what had happened to those? 

And did she even want to know?

“Rey, darling love, what is it?” Hux murmured in her ear as he held her.

Damn, he was too perceptive by half. “Nothing, just...wondering about things,” Rey replied. Then, “There are things in the bags that need to go into the fridge or freezer.”

“I’ll take care of it. I ran you a bath, that should help relax you,” Hux smiled and ran his hands over her back soothingly.

Bone tired, Rey just melted against his slim body and closed her eyes. “Hmh.”

Hux took that opportunity to nibble at her neck for a bit, then swept her into his arms and carried her to the bathroom.

It didn’t take long to get Rey undressed; it was summer, so she wasn’t wearing a lot. The water was pleasantly warm, not too hot, and smelled of something sweet. Hux had even provided a plate with cut up fruit and cheese for her to nibble on, he knew that she was usually ravenous when she came home.

“What did you put in? Smells nice,” Rey asked. This definitely wasn’t her usual bubble bath which was chosen more for practicality’s sake, pine and plectranthus to soothe sore muscles.

“A little something from home. Various herbs and flowers you’ll only find in Anwyn,” Hux replied, setting out a fresh bath towel.

Rey smiled. “And a little Fae magic?”

“And a little Fae magic, yes.” Hux sounded a little hesitant as he said this, as these things were still a little hit and miss, as Rey still wasn’t completely comfortable with the things he could do. “I promise, it’ll have no ill effects.”

Rey didn’t reply, just closed her eyes and relaxed into the water, Hux left, presumably to put away the food.

…

  
  


It was a bit like gentling a wild animal, Hux thought as they lay in Rey’s bed later, just exchanging kisses and soft touches. She was still weary, but also full of curiosity and need for affection. Hux made it a point to touch her as much as he was able, and not just in erotic context, so sooner or later this shy, wild creature would come to crave his touch…

It had worked once before, after all. Kylo had been the same, distrustful, lonely; and now he was irrevocably his - to the point of gifting Hux with his True Name. In time, Hux hoped, Rey would be the same. She would be his, and Kylo and himself hers…

For now she rested with her head on his chest, an arm slung over his torso, her fingers creeping underneath the seam of his shirt to trail over his skin.

“Shall we visit Kylo later?” Hux murmured into Rey’s damp hair.

“Hmmmm…”, Hux could feel the vibrations of her voice, “Yes, let’s. Later...”

She sounded close to drifting off, and Hux let her, holding her as she slept peacefully in his arms.

When she woke he mentioned having to set up their usual meeting-place in the grotto, while Rey yawned and mumbled that they could go down to the loch together, since she wanted to go see her friends anyway.

…

  
  


They strolled down to the little village dock under the setting sun where Poe’s boat lay, and Hux kissed Rey goodbye and went on his way, while she made her way to where Finn was waiting for her, an unusually grim look on his face.

“Please tell me that he’s not the new boyfriend you told us about,” he greeted her, and Rey was about to snap at him when she noticed the fear glimmer in his dark eyes.

“Finn, what’s the matter?” she asked, confused by his behaviour.

“Rey...he’s bad news. Dangerous. Please, trust me on this,” her friend replied, grasping her shoulders in his warm, calloused hands.

Was it possible that he knew about the Fair Folk too? Rey decided to risk it. “You mean that he’s not human? I know that. I could see it right away. But...he hasn’t done anything to harm me.”

“Yet,” Finn growled. “Rey, I never told you this...it’s not the kind of thing you can tell normal people about…” he released her to pace a few steps, rubbing his hands over his face in agitation. “I know them, okay? I used to be with them, one of their soldiers. They kidnap children, raise them to believe that serving the Fae is a human’s natural place, and then use them for anything they want, servants, soldiers, concubines.”

Rey’s eyes grew wide. “You’re a changeling,” she breathed.

“Yeah. And I got out. I was _ lucky _ , Rey. And Hux? Yeah, I know him. Do you know what his task is? Collect people. Adults and children, scout out potential new slaves for the Fae to kidnap and use.” Finn told her, his voice low and intense. “He’s a danger to you.”

Rey swallowed heavily, an icy shiver crawling down her spine, making her tremble. “He...he promised me that he wouldn’t do me any harm.”

Finn snorted. “Depending on what  _ he _ would define as harming you. In their minds they are rescuing people. Doing us a favour by brainwashing us with their magic and giving us  _ purpose _ .”

Rey dropped onto one of the poles holding up the wooden dock, feeling dizzy and winded, as if someone had punched her in the gut. “Oh God. I...I suspected that there was something off about him.” Tt didn’t even occur to her to doubt her friend’s word, not one second. “He was simply too good to be true.”

Finn knelt down in front of her and drew her into a tight embrace. “I’m sorry, Rey. You truly deserve to be happy, and you seemed to be...but I also want you to be safe. If you need me...”

Rey sniffed and hugged him back. “I know.”

Her mind was still reeling when she left them to their work, preparing the boat and the nets for the evening catch.

What was she supposed to do now? She could hardly go and meet Hux and Kylo as if nothing had happened. Rey was surprised how much Finn’s revelations had hurt her; she wouldn’t have thought that she’d become this attached to her lovers in such a short amount of time. She wanted nothing more than to crawl in her bed and cry for a week. 

But not going would just make them seek her out. She was doomed either way, so she might as well confront them head-on instead of cowering like a frightened animal. As she walked on, the shock slowly passed and she became furious. 

How dare they.

How dare they play with her like that. How dare they manipulate her, pretend to care about her, make her love them. And she was angry at herself too; so willing to give everything for a scrap of affection, to disregard the warnings Father Luke had given her, just because she was desperate and lonely. She cursed her soft heart that cared all too easily.

Rey slipped into the grotto through the hidden entrance, seeing her …  _ No.  _ They weren’t  _ anything  _ of hers any more. The two creatures who had so thoroughly duped her were curled up together, Hux’ head in Kylo’s lap, with the siren humming a lovely tune while carding his clawed fingers through Hux’ fiery hair.

The sight, which would have made her smile fondly only a few hours ago, now filled her with nothing but loathing. She detested every hair on their heads, resented their very existence. Her entire chest hurt, and a strangled sob made it out of her chest before she could hold it back.

The sound made Hux’ head snap up, and a blink of an eye later he was at her side with inhuman speed, his arms wrapping around her, drawing her close. “Love, what’s the matter? What happened?”

The sweet concern in his voice, his gentle touch made her want to vomit. With a deep shudder of revulsion she pushed him away with all her strength, making him stagger a step back in surprise. “Don’t touch me! And don’t call me that,” she rasped.

“Rey,” he tried, but she cut him off.

“No. I’m done. You’re a monster. I was warned about your kind, and I should have fucking listened. Don’t come near me ever again.” She held in another sob, tried to swallow it, but it sat in her throat like a ball of poison. “You steal children and turn them into slaves. Isn’t that the truth?”

“Rey,” Hux said quietly, desperately, “please, listen to me. There are many things you don’t know...”

Snorting derisively she cut him off again. “Don’t even try. Do you steal human beings? Yes or no? One word answer, Hux.”

Hux’s face twisted into a grimace. “Yes. But it’s not what you think.”

“Oh, isn’t it,” Rey jeered, prowling around him in a circle like a predator that had scented blood. “Tell that to my friend who managed to escape your clutches. And here I thought Kylo was the monstrous one of you two.”

A distressed sound from the siren made her turn towards him, and he recoiled at the fury on her face, his eyes full of unshed tears. “No, you were right,” Kylo said quietly, “I am the monstrous one of us.”

Hux moved to his lover and wrapped his arms around him. “Kylo, no.”

“If she hates us anyway, she might as well know the full truth, don’t you think?” Kylo replied, his voice dull and devoid of hope. He turned back to Rey. “Why don’t you sit? This might take a while.”

Something in his voice made her do as he had asked. It wasn’t a compulsion, but she found herself unable to resist.

“I was born a prince. My mother was High Queen of the Seelie Court, ruling with her consort, a Siren. I was still very young when the King of the Unseelie started speaking to me, filling my head with promises of glory and power, how great it would be to unify our people so the two courts could become one. I believed him and...I helped him overthrow my parents. My father was killed, my mother disappeared before they could kill her, and my uncle went into Exile in the human world. The King of the Unseelie became Supreme King of All, and I? He cursed me. He cursed me to be bound to this loch, bound in a siren body until I found a human woman to love me, who I would love in return.” Kylo stopped speaking for a moment, hiding his face in Hux’s neck.

“It was less than I deserved for betraying my family. But I was desperate to free myself, to right the wrongs that I had made. That is when Hux approached me. He promised to help me, because he too wanted to put things right. He brought me a human woman, who we seduced. But right after we had lain together, a terrible aspect of the Supreme King’s curse came to light. I suddenly felt a gnawing hunger and was compelled to...to…”

Rey’s hand flew to her mouth and she blanched. He had eaten a person. Eaten. She was glad she was sitting on the ground, because she was quite sure her legs would have given out. How narrowly had she escaped that fate? A sudden thought struck her and made her feel even worse. “How many?” she whispered.

Kylo hid his face again, and his shoulders started to shake in Hux’ embrace.

“Several. Dozens, over the centuries,” Hux answered in Kylo’s stead, his voice even and emotionless. “And he loved all of them. It tore him apart every single time when he came out of his frenzy and find another woman dead at his hands.”

Rey swallowed. “Why not me?”

“I had hoped it meant you were the one. The one who would love a monster,” Kylo replied, looking up again. “But maybe there is another reason. I don’t know. But now you do. Monsters the two of us, one bound to serve and obey his king, and one bound to devour those he loves. What human could ever love such as us? The Supreme King is wise indeed, and his curse is unbreakable.”

Rey didn’t know what to think any more, and simply stared at her hands. Fae creatures were unable to tell outright lies, so everything she had heard was the truth, or rather, a version of it. The question was, could she accept that? Them? Inhuman, with different ideas about morals and right and wrong? They hadn’t harmed her. They had made no attempt to glamour her into obeying them, her heart and her mind were still her own.

“What do you really want with me?” She asked. “Speak plainly.”

Kylo shot Hux a helpless look, so the fae answered for them both. “We mean you no harm, in any way you might think. We want to be with you, love you, in whichever way you’ll allow. We don’t want to make you a slave, if that is what you are afraid of, we want to keep you exactly as you are. We want you to be ours, and to be yours in return.”

Rey nodded slowly. She was exhausted and sore in ways she hadn’t been for a long time. And her stupid, soft heart was already going out to them. “All right, I think I understand. But I need time to think all of this through. I’m not saying no. But...you did deceive me, in a way. Lies by omission are still lies, and I don’t know if I can trust you again.”

“We will wait,” Kylo replied, with hope in his eyes again. “As long as you need us to.”


End file.
